Car-fender.



J. A. MAOMAHON.

GAE FEND'BB. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, 1910.

Patentd May 5, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. A. MAQMAHON,

CAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, 1910.

Patented May 5, 1914.

2 SHE'BTBSHBET 2.

IIIIII h rvr ll lllllllullvl'L'll ATTORNEYS- COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPHCO-IWASHINGTON, D. c

JOHN A. MAGMAHON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-FENDER.

To all "whom it m ay concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. MAoMAHoN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Fender, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to fenders or guards for trolley cars or the likeand relates more particularly to the type of fender known as a trip anddrop scoop, wherein a wheel guard is provided which is normallymaintained out of the path of an obstacle on the track, but is soattached to the car that the movement of a suitable trip instantlylowers or drops the guard or scoop to a posi tion in front of thewheels.

It has for a further object to provide a fender in which the movement ofthe guard takes place in a direct ratio or proportion to the movement ofthe trip, that is to say for a certain movement of the trip a definitemovement of the guard takes place, thereby bringing the latteraccurately into protecting position.

It has for a further object to provide a fender wherein the action ofthe parts is positive, the construction simple and efiec tive for thepurpose intended and one in which the scoop or guard may not be thrownto operative position by the jarring or jolting of the car inmotion.

It has for a further object to provide a fender which may be readilyattached beneath a car body and adjusted for the varying distancebetween the front of the car body and the forward truck wheels, wherebythe operating mechanism is correctly positioned.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as willbe hereinafter fully set forth.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in theaccompanying drawing one form thereof which is at present preferred byme, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory andreliable results, although it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variouslyarranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to theprecise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities asherein shown and described.

Figure 1 represents a side. elevation of a Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed June 24, 1910.

Patented May 5, 1914. Serial No. 568,652.

fender embodying my invention in its preferred form, showing, in dottedlines, the operative position of the fender. Fig. 2 represents a frontelevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a sideelevation of a modifiedform of my device. Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of my novelfender, showing in dotted lines, the first movement of the parts andalso showing a modified form of resetting mechanism. Fig. 5 represents adetail of a modified form of resetting device.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in thefigures. I

Referring to the drawings: In the above described figures, the fender isshown as attached beneath the body of the car, thus bringing the scoopinto more effective relation to the front wheels of the car, while atthe same time the entire fender and its adjuncts are protected frominjury due to collisions and the like which may occur in the course ofordinary street traffic. Of course the device may be attached to thefront of the car, as is customary in the present practice, but suchanarrangement is undesirable for the reason that all fenders which areso arranged take up unnecessary space and are exposed to the dangers ofstreet traific.

1 designates the sills of an ordinary car body, to each of which ispreferably at tached a plurality of hangers 2 forming a supporting meansfor my novel fender mechanism, it being of course understoodthat each ofthe hangers is fixedly secured by means of a bolt 8' or equivalentdevice, all of which are positioned so as to correctly locate themechanism with respect to the forward wheels of the car.

4: and 5 designate, respectively, arms for supporting the scoop member6, the said arms being pivotally secured to one of the hangers 2 bymeans of pins 7 as will be apparent. The scoop member '6 preferablyconsists of side bars 8, each of which is provided with an extension 9,here shown as angularly disposed with relation to the bars 8, the saidbars being pivotally supported upon the arms 4 and 5, respectively.

10 designates a link having a pivotal connection at 11 to the extension9 and pivoted at its other end to one of the hangers 2. This means ofconnecting the side of the scoop member through a link and pivotedconnectionto a hanger 2, aflords a means of magnifying the movement ofthe scoop member when acted upon by the movement of the arms 1 and Itwill be noted that the arm preferably extends forwardly to form aconnecting means between the scoop structure and the trip device,presently to be described. This member at its forward end is providedwith a slot 12 having a notch or recess 13 at one end, with whichcooperates pin 1 1- attached to or forming part of a link 15. This link15 forms a part of the trip mechanism and as here shown is pivotallysecured at 16 to one of the hangers 2 and has secured thereto a bar 1'?forming a direct connection between it and the buffer. The buffer, inthe present instance, consists of the side arms 18 connected together byasuitable buffer rod or the like 19, positioned to intercept anyobstacle which may be upon the track. The arms 18 are pivotally securedat 20 to another of the hangers 2 and it will be apparent that anymotion of these members in a rearward direction. will immediately betransmitted to the link 15 and thus remove the pin 14!: from the notchor recess 13,

whereupon the pin 14: will engage thecam like surface of the slot 12 andeffect a positive movement ofthe arm 5 and its cooperating adjuncts. Itwill be noted that I have formed one of the side arms 18 with a ratchetface 21, with which a pivoted pawl 22 normally engages and thus locksthe mechanism after any movement to operative position. In connectionwith the pin 14: and slot connection 12, it will be noted that these twoparts should be very accurately fitted and of suitable material toresistwear at this point, since this connection plays an importantpart'in the-stability of the fender, the structure being such that movement of the two members is permitted only in the direction of the arrowsshown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. It will thus be clear when the pin 1 1is in therecess 13 that the scoop or guard will be-pcsitively held inits elevated position away from the road bed and the same can only belowered or dropped by a movement of the'trip 18 in the direction of thearrows in Fig. 1. It will be noted that the trip mechanism may beadjusted for variation in the size of car bodies, since it only becomesnecessary to insert a link 17 of different length and thus change thedistance between the two hangers siiipporting the trip mechanism, eitherextending or shortening the distance be tween the trip and guard.

Particular attention is directed to the pivotal connection ofthe scoopmember 6 to the members 4 and 5, together with the link construction 10,since thereby an ini tial tilting is given" the scoop member, bringingthesanie into close proximity to the any portion of a body gettingbeneath the guard before it drops to operative position.

In the modification disclosed in Fig. 3, I preferably provide a link 23having slots 24 and :25 therein, the former being adapted to receive apin 26 secured to the arm 5, while the latter receives a pin 27 securedto the side bar 8. It will also be noted that the link 23 is pivotallymounted at 28 upon the hanger 2, thus providing a mechanism whichoperates to drop the scoop member 6 proportionately to the movement ofthe trip 18, while at the same time giving a forward scooping motioneffectual to gather in any obstacle upon the track. It will also benoted that in this modification one of the hangers 2 forming a supportfor the trip mechanism, has a plate 29, preferably integral therewithand provided with openings 30 forming means to shift the trip 18 fordifferent adjustments relative to the size of the car body.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4-, I preferably employ a foot or handlever 31 passing through a suitable opening 32 in the'floor of the car,the said lever having a plurality of projections 83 thereon adapted tocooperate with a cross bar 34L seouredto the hangers 2. This lever 81,as here shown. is pivotally secured at 35 to the link 17 of the tripmechanism, whereby the latter may be operated by the motorman to dropthe scoop or to return the parts to inoperative position after anautomatic movement.

In the operation of the device, the fender is fixed in position beneaththe car and set in its normal position as shown in Fig. 1, with the pin1.4. in locked position with the notch 13. In this position the bufferbar 19 is located so as to contact with an object or thelike upon theroad bed and should. it strike such an object, the pin 1-1-isimmediately released from the notch 18, whereupon a positive movement ofthe arm 5 takes place, effecting an instant lowering of the scoop 6. Itwill be noted that gravity plays no action whatsoever in the movement ofthese parts, as they are all interconnected, and movement of one effectsthe othersin a definite relation, thus bringing the scoop down intoposition in close proximity to the road bed, with a velocityapproximately sev eral times in excess ofthe speed. of the trip pingmechanism, in an upward vertical direction.

In connection with the pivotal attachment of'the tripping member'lS,attention is directed'to the desirability of so arranging thetrip on itspivots thatthe center of gr vity thereof is on the rear side of avertical line drawn through the pivotal point of the trip, that istoward the scoop, thereby accurately and tightly holding the pin 14-within the notch 13. The stability of this con road bed, and thuseffectually preventing i structioirwillibe apparent when it is seen thata triangle of forces is established by the points 7, 16 and 14 and asthe triangle is the most stable figure known, the equilibrium of thescoop can only be disturbed by destroying this triangle of forces, whichas here shown, can only be done by a movement of the trip 18 in thedirection already noted, either by engagement with a body in the path ofa car or by manual operation thereof.

Attention is further directed to the mounting of the scoop or guard sothat its center of gravity is always back of the vertical axis of thepivotal point 7, this arrangement maintaining a constant pressureagainst the pin 14, thereby preventing any possible downward movement ofthe scoop unless of course the trip is operated to release the pin 1%. Aperfect lock is thus established until the pin lt is moved out of therecess 13 in the direction of the arrow by the bufier bar 19 coming incontact with an obstructing body in the path of the car or else bymanual action from the platform through the lever 31. It will further benoted that the trip and scoop can never act independently of each other,thereby making the action of the scoop a mechanical certainty, resultantfrom any movement of the trip.

It will be particularly noted that the lever connection between theguard and car is such that a direct ratio of movement exists be tweenthe trip and guard, that is to say, if the trip moves, for example, oneinch from the road bed, the bufier end of the guard is swung downwardlyand lessens its distance from the road bed by say three inches, orwhatever the fixed ratio may be. This is a very important and essentialfeature in fender construction, since it insures the guard being loweredpromptly to prevent any portion of the object on the track gettingbeneath the guard.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a simple and effectivefender for the purpose intended and one in which the number of parts isreduced to a minimum and there is no complicated system of levers,connections or the like liable to get out of order while the self-actingfeature is effective and requires no attention to secure prompt andefiicient results in moments of emergency.

Particular attention is directed to the fact thatthere is also lessdanger in being struck by this device than by that of most previousconstructions or designs. The fact that the trip is pivoted and yieldingin the direction the object is traveling, that is against the directionof the car, reduces the force of the blow to a minimum, which in itselfshould prevent many serious injuries.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable in the statement of the invention and in the abovedescription, and while I have in the present instance shown anddescribed the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found inpractice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to beunderstood that the same is susceptible of modification in variousparticulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionor sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of armssecured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car, one

of said arms having a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacentsaid recessed arm, and means fixedly mounted on said trip and co-actingin normal position with said recess to form a lock.

2. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of armssecured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car, one of said armshaving a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said recessedarm, and a pin fixedly mounted on said trip and co-acting in normalposition with said recess to form a lock.

3. In a device of the character stated, a guard, arms secured to saidguard and pivotally mounted on a car, one of said arms having a recesstherein, a trip pivotally se cured adjacent said guard arms, a pin onsaid trip co-acting in normal position with said recess to form a lock,and means to lock said guard in its tripped position.

a. In a device of the character stated, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on a car, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip operativelyconnected to one of said arms to move the same, and means to effect aswinging of said guard relative to said arms during the movement of saidarms.

5. In a device of the character stated, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on a car, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip operativelyconnected to one of said arms to move the same, means to effect aswinging of said guard relative to said arms during the movement of saidarms, and means to lock said guard in operative position.

6. In a device of the character stated, aplurality of arms pivotallymounted on a car, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip operativelyconnected to one of said arms to move the same, and a lever connectionbetween said car and said guard to effect a swinging of said guardrelative to said arms during the movement of said arms.

7. In a device of the character stated, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on a car frame, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip pivotallysecured adjacent said guard arms, and a fixed pin and recess connectionbetween one of said arms and trip, whereby car, a guard pivoted to saidarms, an ad-- justable trip operativelyconnected to one-of said arms tomove the same, and :means to effect a swinging of said guard relative tosaid arms during. the movement of said arms.

9. In a device of the character stated, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on. a car, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip operativelyconnected to one of said arms, a link pivoted to said car and having aplurality of slots therein, a pin on one of said guard arms andcooperating with one of said slots, and a pin 011 saidv guardcooperating with the other of said slots, whereby said guard is swungrelative to said arms during a movement of said arms;

10. In a device of the character stated, a phirality of arms pivotallymounted on a car, a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip operativolyconnected to one of said arms to move the same, and means to effect-amovement of said guard, whereby the buffer end of said guard movesr agreater-distance to ward the road bedthamthemovement of the I trip awayfrom theroadbed.

11. In a device of the-character stated, a plurality of arms :pivotallymounted on a car, .a guard pivoted to said arms, a trip 1 move the same,and means attached to said guard directly connected through the arm ofsa1d guard to the trip, whereby the speed of said guard toward theground caused by themovement of the trip is increased over the speed ofthe trlpaway from the ground.

JOHN A; MAGMAHONL'" Witnesses Ronnn'r M. BARR, C. D. MGVAY.

Copies of this patent may bra-obtainedfor: five cents eaeh, by'addressingrthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C.

